Talking points from Wednesday’s unveiling of Sun Devil Stadium renovations:
- In keeping the stadium at its current location, new Arizona State athletic director Steve Patterson referred to its current location as both “an iconic spot” and “holy ground for certain people.”
- The upper bowl of the stadium is expected to be demolished, reducing capacity from 73,000 to somewhere between 55,000-65,000 while offering more leg room and seat backs for each seat. The north side of the stadium would be “open” for views of Tempe Town Lake.
- The roof would be a fixed, fabric covering to provide shade and offer moving air to pass through the stadium, while also protecting the field from rain/snow.
- There are two proposed renderings for renovation. One proposal involves doing a complete renovation at once, in which ASU would play for two years at another local stadium TBD, with University of Phoenix Stadium, Chase Field among options being explored. The second proposal would be done in stages in which ASU would continue playing games at Sun Devil Stadium, while each side of the stadium would be renovated during the offseason. That proposal could require five different stages with a timetable TBD, but likely 4-5 years for completion.
- Citing ASU as being in the “bottom 3” of revenue in the Pac-12 conference, Patterson said ticket prices “will change, but do they get value for their purchase?”
- With the aforementioned two scenarios in which renovations could be completed, Patterson couldn’t offer a specific cost for the renovations but $300 million has been a popular figure as a starting point. Patterson said further financial details and plans for funding the renovation are expected to be completed in June.
- Patterson, on possible temporary locations for football games: “Well, we wouldn’t play in Tucson.”
